Whether for primary or revision arthroplasty, cutting guides are typically employed to ensure that the bone saw performs resections corresponding to mating surfaces of the prosthetic component. For example, in a femoral knee replacement, cutting guides or blocks are temporarily secured to the distal end of the femoral shaft, and include slots into which the blade of an oscillating saw is inserted to shape the end of the bone in accordance with corresponding surfaces of the prosthetic element.
In the case of a revision, the procedure is usually more elaborate due to deterioration of the previously prepared surfaces resulting from decomposition of the bone/prosthesis interface, necrosis, and other factors. Cutting blocks are also typically used in revision procedures, though bone deficiency often renders stabilization of the block impossible. In addition, if the cutting block includes a stem, the positioning of the stemmed implant can alter the fit of the final prothesis relative to the bone. More recently introduced techniques attempt to base the cuts on an intramedullary guide to which additional cutting blocks are mounted. Though such approaches improve bone cutting accuracy, there remains an unacceptable margin of error, the correction of which in some cases requiring a freehand shaping of the bone.